Big Oil has a long track record of using front groups to protect its interests and mislead Californians. But who would have guessed that a non-profit group created by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors would be one of them?

Amid ongoing media scrutiny of Gov. Jerry Brown for using state workers to search for oil on his own private land, he and his staff continue to claim that he received no special treatment. That's untrue, and instead of being tone-deaf to the growing consensus, he should acknowledge his mistake and apologize.

Another quarter, another tens of millions of dollars spent on lobbying lawmakers. In 2015, $236 million has been spent on lobbying, with $86 million in this quarter alone, according to the Secretary of State. Last year, at the same time, $224 million was spent in the first three quarters of the year, with $79 million in the third quarter.